ABSTRACT
Metastasis is an intricate process which involves the proliferation of a tumour to distant parts of the body from its original site. To successfully colonize a distant area in the body, a cancer cell must complete a series before it becomes clinically detectable. These steps involve a large number of proteins indulging in various pathways. Proteins such as matriptase require serine protease for activation, processing and degradation of any signal. Stim1/Orai1 controls the Ca2+ channel which is important for cell migration. Sox protein plays a vital role in various cellular activities and the disruption of its gene plays a role in instigating invasion. Unlike the above three, Metadherin has an inhibitory role to play. Protein inhibits the epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT); thus the loss of metadherin evokes metastasis. These proteins play a role in amalgamation with various pathways such as the AKT E-cadherin and EMT pathway, PI3K/AKT pathway, integrin-linked kinase (ILK) – integrin signalling pathway, PI3K/AKT and notch signalling pathway. In this article, we have combined various proteins and pathways that work in coordination to result in a metastatic colony. There are two major events that occur during metastasis, that is epithelial–mesenchymal transition and mesenchymal–epithelial transition. Both these events are an indispensable part for metastasis.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.